South Korea's chief nuclear envoy departed to Russia Monday to discuss North Korea's nuclear issues following a high-ranking North Korean official's recent visit to the neighbor.

The four-day trip by Hwang Joon-kook will include a meeting on Wednesday with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Morgulov Igor as well as discussions with officials there on the North Korean issue.

Hwang's schedules in Russia are expected to focus on efforts to figure out the North's readiness to resume the long-stalled six-party talks, especially since North Korean envoy Choe Ryong-hae's official trip to Russia last month. 

Following the North Korean governing party secretary's visit, the Russian foreign minister said that the North has expressed its willingness to come back to the long-stalled six-party denuclearization talks unconditionally.

"(I) plan to expansively discuss the latest situation of the Korean Peninsula as well as ways to (resume) a meaningful denuclearization dialogue (on North Korea) and how to deal with future provocations (from Pyongyang)," Hwang said before his flight to Russia. "I will listen carefully to Russian opinions on the Russia-North Korea relations and explain our stance," he noted. 

Hwang's Russia visit also comes ahead of U.S. special envoy on North Korea policy Sung Kim's visit to South Korea later this week.

After returning home on Thursday, Hwang is scheduled to meet with Kim to discuss Pyongyang's nuclear weapons. (Yonhap)